Vindicated
by A Darker Heaven
Summary: After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Vindicated (1/13)  
**Authors:** A Darker Heaven  
**Fandom:** Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers)  
**Pairing:** Tony Stark/Loki, Thor/Loki  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Warnings:** Slash, mpreg.  
**Spoilers:** Avengers (the movie)  
**Word Count: **3,712  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel.  
**Summary: **After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.  
**A/N:** This story was originally written as an RPG, which explains any shifty POV's. This chapter is not beta read.

"_I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul."_ - Pablo Neruda

Loki paced back and forth like an angry, trapped animal. He paced even though he knew how lucky he was to be out of the dungeon. He had been surprised when as soon as he landed on Asgard, Thor led him back to his old childhood room and locked the door behind him. Odin must have prepared the room beforehand because Loki's magic had muted as soon as he stepped through the doorway.

Sneaky bastard. Months later, Loki was still fuming about the muzzle that Thor just happened to have with him on Earth. Of course, it was the All Father's doing. Thor never planned that far ahead.

It had been four months since 'the incident', as he heard others call it. His time on that despicable planet was a blur of hate filled thoughts of revenge, but now, back in the home he grew up in, he was beginning to see things more clearly. He wondered for the first time if the tortures he endured had indeed made him lose his mind.

Yes, he was still angry at Odin. He didn't know if he could ever forgive the old man for such a significant secret. But Frigga… Frigga was his mother. She had always doted on Loki and encouraged his pursuit of magic when she realized he would never be the strong warrior his brother could be. Frigga had never favored Thor over him.

And Thor…his relationship with his brother would always be a complicated one.

Loki could hear Thor's footsteps coming from down the hall and he scrambled to grab a book to appear like he was reading instead of pacing worriedly. Today was the day his fate would be decided and he knew his brother would come with news of what the All Father had decided about his punishment.

Thor sighed as he made his way to Loki's furnished prison. It wasn't much of one, but at least it was something that could contain him. His father's magic radiated off of the walls. Where would he run to, after all? Where would he go? Loki was trapped even without walls to protect him.

Thor opened the door and closed it behind him quickly, ensuring that Loki could not slip past him. For a moment, he just stared at his brother with his nose in a book. He wasn't fooling anyone, especially the one who knew him better than any other.

"Brother," Thor announced, though his tone was oddly affectionate.

Loki's fingers clenched tightly around the novel. "I am not your brother, Odin's son. Tell me what news you bring of my fate. Am I to be strapped to a rock for the rest of time or is there some other new torture the All Father has come up with?" he asked, not looking up from the pages. He had been having trouble looking Thor in the eyes lately.

Thor had to smile at that. "Must you always be so dramatic? I remember what they called you down on Earth... a drama queen, was it? And you are my brother, still, in a way. And you used to be much more than that. But you have betrayed me just because of a little lie you were never really meant to know."

Loki gripped the book tighter and its leather strained. What arrogant mortal had dared to say such a thing about him? "A little lie! Odin stole me away like one of his many conquering treasures. He stored me here hoping to use me as an alliance chip against the Frost Giants!" Loki flung the book at Thor's head. "And as for you and I... you betrayed me with your little human tramp!"

Thor dodged the book expertly and tried not to roll his eyes at Loki's childishness. "Loki, father loves you, just as he loves me. Even now, while you are acting like a child whose toy was taken away," he sighed, though he knew Loki wouldn't listen. He was also sure that Loki was just trying to distract him from delivering him his fate. And perhaps he was allowing it. Maybe he wouldn't tell Loki at all and maybe he wanted to try to talk his father out of what he had decided. "Listen, I don't want to fight."

"You, God of Thunder, Odin's first born and heir to the kingdom of Gods do not want to fight?" Loki laughed a little hysterically. "You always fight! It's what you do!"

"Not with you, Loki. And just because I am who I am does not mean all my business must be war. It took me a long time to realize that, and it may take you even longer," he told him. Slowly, he sat down beside him. "I wish I could help you, Loki. I wish I could relieve you of all this anger you feel. But you cling to it, and have turned your back on the one person left who is willing to help you."

Loki's jaw clenched at that so he would not say anything else harmful. Thor and Frigga were all he had left of his childhood and he knew if he wasn't careful he would lose their support and their support could be all that keeps him from Asgard's prison. "What of my fate then?" he asked in a softer tone.

Thor wondered if he would ever be able to trust him again. He wondered if he would ever have his baby brother back. "It's not so bad. You will not be in Asgard's dungeons, at least," he began, not really knowing how to finish. "I tried to talk father out of it. But he refuses. He says it is the best thing for you. For us," he sighed, not elaborating.

Loki frowned, wondering why Thor would be involved in his punishment. "Us? You had nothing to do with my actions, why are you being punished also?"

"Like you care what my fate is," Thor scuffed, though it was slightly out of character for him. Sometimes, Loki brings emotions out of him that he rarely felt with any others. And right now, he was bitter for many reasons. "You are being condemned to Earth, much like I was. Except... you will be sent down to the extraordinary humans that defeated you. You are to help them protect the Earth and I am meant to be your guardian. Tony, the one they call Iron Man, has had a mansion built where the so called 'Avengers' are stationed. You are to go there. I tried to talk father out of it, but he means for you to somehow redeem yourself. There, that is it. That is your fate."

Loki could not believe it. He would rather be tortured than this! His hands clenching in his lap were the only evidence of his anger. "He means to send me to Earth powerless and right into the hands of those who rather see me dead? I'd rather him just kill me now and get it over with!"

"You think I'm happy with this, either?" Thor barked, but controlled his anger. "You misunderstand humans, Loki, you always have. You misunderstand humanity. They are a forgiving people. Odin is being _kind_," he tried to convince.

"Odin is up to his scheming plans as always! Thor, surely you can see this! You can not let him do this! You are the future King of Asgard!" he said, trying to stroke his brother's ego.

"Oh please, Loki. You _still _don't understand the gravity of all you have done. That is why Odin is sending you there. Things have changed now," he tried to explain. "What you have done has affected everyone."

"This is just an excuse for you to be sent back to your little human whore!" Loki spat angrily.

Thor's shoulders slumped. It always came back to this, didn't it? Loki obviously could not let this go. And he would never understand. "She is not a whore, Loki. She did not whore herself out to other men and women like you!" he shouted. What he had with Loki in the past had been different. Jealousy had never been a part of it. At least, that was what Thor told himself, even when he found out that Loki had seduced and slept with his friends.

That shut Loki up for the moment. He was usually the one to say harsh truths. "Your father will send us to Earth then? With you as my master?" he said sarcastically ignoring Thor's earlier words. "Will I get my powers back? Or will I be a bound and gagged present for your little friends?"

"No, I will not be your _master_. I will be there to watch over you. To protect you from the humans before you redeem yourself... _if _you redeem yourself. And there is no possibility of you having your powers. None of us trust you with them. You must earn them back, to use father's words," Thor explained.

Loki rolled his eyes. Odin knew he would not be able to earn back his powers, but surely he would not take his natural shape shifting abilities away from him. After all, that's what kept him looking human. "Am I to meet them as a blue monster or will the Great All Father let me keep that power?" he asked hesitantly, not knowing what the answer might be and the thought of having to see himself again in that form terrified him. Even Thor had not seen his true form, and perhaps his so called brother would not be so apt to defend him if he had.

"I never knew you to be so self conscious," Thor challenged.

"Then you don't know me as well as you think," Loki said quietly.

"You may keep your power to allow yourself to fit in," Thor sighed.

"When do we leave for Earth?"

"Tomorrow at dawn. The others will be expecting us," Thor told him, and when he paused, he suppressed the urge to reach out for him. He knew his touch would be rejected. And besides, Loki was going to have to redeem himself to him, too. He did not trust him, not after what he had done. "Will you try? To help these humans and their Earth? Or will you seek to destroy it again?" he tested hesitantly.

"How will my presence be able to help humans? Odin must have really lost his mind this time. How am I to help anyone without magic?" Loki said with a shake of his head. "Leave me, Thor."

"You rely too much on your powers, Loki. You need to learn who you are without them," Thor repeated his father's words.

Loki knew he had other skills, but those involved lying and deceit, both of which he had no problem using. "Leave me brother, I'm tired," he ordered, purposely calling Thor 'brother' to get the other man out of his room faster.

Thor gave Loki a confused look. "You called me brother. What are you scheming?"

"I want you out of here so I can cut my hair," Loki felt his lips forming the words, but they had been expressed without his permission. "Odin added another spell to give you even more power over me…" he said knowingly.

"Cut your hair? Why would you do that?" Thor asked, amazed at how fast Odin's magic could work. It was going to be strange listening to Loki honestly. He wasn't sure he wanted to know the truth from him all the time. But it was Odin's orders, and they were set in stone. "He... cast some sort of truth spell on you. But it only works with me. Don't worry, I will not abuse it," Thor promised.

"I want the humans to see me differently and that will be the first step to gaining their trust," Loki said before he could stop himself. Damn Odin and his treacherous ways! "Of course you will abuse it. Especially when you realize this is never going to work."

"You really cannot lie to me?" Thor asked genuinely. He wondered why Loki was saying he wanted to 'earn back the human's trust'. He found it hard to believe, truth serum or not, that that was Loki's real plan. "Does it really bother you so much?"

"Of course it bothers me. Do not ask me anything else," Loki hissed.

Thor fell silent, staring at his brother despite the fact that he was avoiding him purposefully. He wanted to ask him so many questions, but he could not find the words. But he did know one way in which Loki could answer questions burning in his mind without actually asking him directly.

After a moment of silence, Thor's palm reached out to cup his cheek, and before Loki with his fast reflexes could stop him, he drew his lips to his in a chaste kiss. Loki sighed and closed his eyes after the brief brush of familiar lips. "I thought we weren't going to do that anymore." he said softly, not opening his eyes.

Thor did not quite pull away. He looked for the truth impatiently in Loki's endless blue eyes and in his words. "I'm not the one that turned away," he whispered.

Loki let out a shaky breath and opened his eyes to look at his brother. "I never meant for you to get hurt. Things… got out of hand."

"No, I think you knew exactly what you were doing and what it would do to me. To us," Thor disagreed, though he knew that there must be some level of truth there due to his father's spell. However, he was going to need a lot of time to forgive and trust Loki again, if he ever could.

Loki shook his head. "I knew the Destroyer couldn't hurt you. I was just trying to distract you," he said, his eyes pleading for his brother to believe him. "You are Thor, God of Thunder. Even as a mortal you are powerful."

Thor got up from where he sat. "I'm going to leave you now. We will leave this place tomorrow," he announced, no longer looking Loki in the eyes. "I will obtain some human clothes for you when we arrive."

Loki should have let him go with that, but he needed to say one last thing. "Before all of this started, the night of your coronation, I told you never to doubt that I love you. But I made you doubt it and now it will never be the same, will it?"

Thor stopped before he reached the door, caught off guard by that question and surprised that Loki remembered that night that well. "I still hope that one day I will... be able to trust you again," he told him honestly.

Loki nodded and watched as his brother left. As soon as he was gone, he leaned forward to bury his head in his hands. It wasn't a long moment of grief before he heard the sound of the door opening again, and this time to a softer set of footsteps than his brother's.

"Mother, what are you doing here?"

Frigga walked into Loki's furnished prison as if she was gliding. She approached Loki and delivered him a soft kiss on his forehead, cupping his cheeks in her palms like he was still a little boy. "What do you mean? I am obligated to check on my youngest son."

If she had been Odin, Loki would have said some snide comment about not being their son. But this was Frigga, the woman who was Thor's stepmother but had always been Loki's mother. This was the woman who had put up with the snide gossip about him with her head held high. To Loki, it did not matter that Frigga had not gave birth to him because she had taken in a child and raised it as her own and had never showed the favoritism that Odin had.

"You must have heard the All Father's sentence then," Loki grumbled. "He's sending me back into a den of my enemies without any means of protecting myself."

"My love, you will have protection. I made sure of it. I tried to reason with Odin, but it is not within my power. And you have committed some pretty serious and evil crimes, my child," Frigga spoke softly as she smoothed her son's hair out of his face. Though her tone was serious, her eyes were full of sorrow.

"You are the reason Odin is sending Thor with me," Loki realized. "I did what I thought I had to. I regret nothing."

"I know," she said sadly, studying Loki's face as if she were trying to determine what she did wrong. "But perhaps you will, in time. Thor will keep you safe. You two used to be so... close. He will also be there so that you do not fall into loneliness, my love."

Loki looked away. His relationship with Thor had not exactly been a secret but they had stayed discrete despite the gossip. Incest was pretty common place in Asgard just because of the fact that there weren't many Asgardians left after the Wars.

"Thor loves Jane. As soon as we are back on Earth, he will seek her out," Loki told her quietly.

"He thinks he loves her. She is something that he may never have, and that is why he wants her. You have also broken his heart, love," Frigga told him softly, continuing to brush a hand through her son's jet black hair.

"His heart is too big for something as insignificant as me to break it," Loki said as he began to lean into her touch and actually relax. "I am sorry for all the pain I caused you," he admitted.

"Shhh," Frigga soothed him, not telling him that it was alright, because Loki had destroyed so much. But her love for Loki was that of a mother and it was unconditional. "Is that really how you see yourself? Insignificant? You are a prince, Loki, and I raised you better than that."

"Why?" Loki finally asked the question that had been burning in his mind since Odin had told him the truth. "Why did you raise me at all? You were already raising one son that was not your own. Why take on another, a monster's changeling at that?"

"I suppose every woman at some point wants to raise children, and I love you both so much that those details don't matter. I love Thor, but I was never able to truly understand him as I understand you. I suppose a mother always has her favorites," she smiled. "And you are not a monster, Loki. You are a beautiful prince of Asgard and always will be. That is your identity that you seem to have lost."

"Being a Prince would mean that I am Odin's son and I am not his son! I am nothing more than a stolen trophy."

"Stop it, Loki," Frigga told him sternly, her tone changing. Sometimes, it was the only way to speak to him. "It is an insult that you do not think of me as your mother, after raising you since you were a baby. You were never a stolen trophy!" she practically shouted.

That instantly silenced Loki's aggression. "I didn't mean you mother... I know it wasn't like that for you. I'm sorry."

"_Shhh,_" Frigga soothed again. "Just do this for me, then."

Loki sighed and knew he would do as his Mother asked. "I will go and play nice with the earthlings... and I will make sure Thor doesn't do anything stupid while we are there."

"Good. And you will respect your brother. He is doing this for you," she instructed, though she knew Thor had no choice. "And both of you need to come back to me in one piece."

"We will," Loki said hesitantly.

"Good," Frigga smiled sadly as she leaned in to kiss her son on the forehead as if she could not hold back. "Now you must get some sleep. Even the most powerful of gods need rest."

Loki watched her go, and his dreams that night were not as dark as they usually were.

The next morning, he looked at himself in the mirror and wondered how long the others would still view him as a monster. He didn't put on any of his usual armor and was instead wearing a simple green tunic and dark leather pants. His hair was finely trimmed, making him look younger. Different.

The guards came for him just after breakfast and he stood back and let them shackle his wrists with manacles that Odin had obviously made especially for him. Like the very air around him, they were meant to suppress his magic.

The guards led him to the now rebuilt bifrost bridge where Odin, Frigga and Thor were all waiting. Loki wanted to snarl at Odin, but Frigga's presence kept his anger at bay. He felt like a dog with his tail between his legs. "Lovely day for a little trip to Earth isn't it?" he said as pleasantly as he could manage. Thor ignored him. Frigga stepped forward while Odin turned his back to deliver one more kiss to his brow.

"That's enough. Muzzle him," Loki heard Odin say, and he heard Thor sigh with hesitation.

"Is that really necessary, father?" Thor asked, not looking at Loki.

"For traveling, yes. You may remove it once you arrive, of course. And keep it close to you. You may have to use it again."

Muzzled. Like a animal. The smell of his mother's hair still lingered from her close proximity and it was all he could do not to lash out. Instead he clenched his fists and bit his tongue to keep back any hateful comments.

Thor took the muzzle out of his pocket and stood in front of Loki, his body tense as if he expected a fight. When all Loki did was glare, he sighed again and fastened the muzzle over the other man's mouth as gently as he could.

He turned back towards Odin who looked distraught. "We're ready," he announced, tightening his hold on Loki's leash.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Vindicated (2/13)  
**Authors:** A Darker Heaven  
**Fandom:** Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers)  
**Pairing:** Tony Stark/Loki, Thor/Loki  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Warnings:** Slash, mpreg.  
**Spoilers:** Avengers (the movie)  
**Word Count: **5,378  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel.  
**Summary: **After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.  
**A/N:** This story was originally written as an RPG, which explains any shifty POV's. This chapter is not beta read.

Natasha knew what was happening the moment they got the call from SHIELD.

A year ago, the misfit Avengers team helped save the world and then immediately went their separate ways. And separate they remained, at least until they received an invite from Tony Stark a few months later. The genius, billionaire, playboy had built the Avengers their own mansion and all it needed was the Avengers.

So Natasha and Clint had packed their belongings and headed to Manhattan. She and Steve had remained agents of SHIELD even when Clint took time off after Loki's mind controlling. Bruce began working with Tony and seemed to be happy and calm. Tony had gone back to do whatever it was that Tony did in his labs. Living together in one building made everything seem as normal as normal could be for any of them. The world around them was calm.

Natasha knew it couldn't last. Times of peace never do. In her gut, she knew trouble was brewing far away. A few days ago, she learned that Agent Fury had been in contact with Asgard. He claimed they were organizing a peace treaty, but when the spy looked into SHIELD's data base, she found a much different kind of plan… one that made her feel very uneasy.

And now, the Avengers were gathered again. When they all filed into the meeting room, Natasha was the only one who didn't look surprised to see Loki and his brother Thor. Agent Barton went for his bow as soon as he set his sights on the dark haired villain, but a hand on his shoulder calmed him enough for Fury to explain the situation. The soldier-out-of time listened quietly like a good little pawn and the doctor, who was really a bigger monster than Loki was, just stared at Loki like he was trying to figure out what he gained from this. Tony Stark, of course, was running late.

Tony interrupted the meeting when he raced into the room and slid across the floor, everyone in the room stopping to stare at his dramatic and late entrance. "What did I miss?" he asked, looking around and seeing all the puzzle pieces come together, even the evil ones that didn't quite fit in the picture.

Loki sat quietly behind his brother Thor. They had arrived on Earth a few hours ago, long enough for Thor to explain the situation to the Avengers and to finally convince Agent Fury to finally agree with the idiotic plan. Loki knew Fury had his own reasons for agreeing and his motives would be shown soon.

Like Natasha, Tony looked unsurprised as he observed the demigods in the room and the tense humans staring one of them down. "Ah, yes. Our guests have arrived. Still chained. I still don't see how this is a good idea," he put in his two-cents and carefully watched Loki's expression.

"There are still enemies out there, and any help offered should not be turned away," Fury said the last part of his sentence to Tony.

"Maybe we should stick to individuals who are at least on the same team," Tony spoke out again. Loki looked out of place even with his new haircut and new human clothes. The boy couldn't look normal if he tried. It was odd to see him like this, shackled and silenced and powerless. Beaten down. It almost depressed Tony.

"Apparently, this is part of Loki's punishment. In order to get back his full power, he has to help us," Natasha told Tony even though it was obvious that she didn't believe a word of it.

Loki raised an eyebrow at her. She was interesting to him because she had actually managed to trick the Trickster. Loki would have to keep an eye on her.

"It would be helpful to have Thor back," Captain America then said. "And Thor seems to have Loki under control..."

"Have we forgotten everything he has done!?" Barton suddenly yelled, his fist banging down hard on the table and grabbed everyone's attention with his outburst. Loki didn't even flinch. "He broke into my mind and he killed one of our own. He killed Agent Coulson."

At this proclamation, Loki just appeared confused and the good Dr. Banner, who had also been watching him closely, spoke up. "You killed an agent during your break out. He was a friend," he said in a deceptively soft voice. Loki just shifted closer to Thor, used his shadow as protection, and ignored the doctor. He remembered how the Hulk had thrown him around like a rag doll.

Tony watched Loki recoil in his shyness and misery and saw only an embarrassed child underneath his protective, arrogant walls. He also knew that Agent Fury was giving no one a choice, no matter how much they sat around and argued. They may as well make the best of the circumstances.

"I think we've all done things to hurt other people. We aren't exactly perfect ourselves. Let's give him a chance. Besides, he's as harmless as a kitten," Tony sneered over in Loki's direction, giving him a look that told him he still didn't trust him as far as he could throw him. But then he remembered that he could throw him pretty damn far.

"Thank you, Tony," Thor gave Tony a halfhearted smile.

Loki looked up from the floor to glare at the Iron Man because that was all he could do in his present circumstances. Tony wouldn't be so brave if Loki wasn't locked up and muzzled... or perhaps he would be. He remembered how the mortal had come to him with no armor.

"Even kittens have claws," the Black Widow pointed out. "We can't trust him anywhere near our planet, especially in our own home... unless you think JARVIS can keep an eye on him at all times."

Tony only shrugged, indicating that JARVIS could do just about anything.

"Look," Thor began with a sigh, reclaiming all the attention of everyone in the room with just one word. "Loki has paid for his crimes. He was tortured by the Chitari."

Loki's eyes jerked up to stare at his brother in shock and just a little bit of hurt and betrayal. He hadn't told anyone of the events that transpired before coming to Earth, not even their mother who has the power of prophecy.

The Avengers team looked doubtful except for the Black Widow. When no one said anything she leaned forward and pulled up the security footage from the night when Loki appeared. "I must have watched this over a thousand times when I found out Loki had Clint." she said fast forwarding until after the small battle where Loki killed everyone he didn't need.

"Here." she said pausing as rewinding until it showed the clip of the usually graceful Loki, tripping, with one of the SHIELD agents helping him up. It was almost faster than a blink of an eye, but it was there. "I thought it strange that a person could take out a roomful of trained agents in a minute but still look like a Holocaust survivor." When she paused at a close of Loki's face, the shadows under his eyes were so dark they looked bruised and his skin was so pale and gaunt that he looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks.

Thor couldn't help feeling bad that he put Loki on the spot, exposing him in front of the team. But they had to know. It was perhaps the only way for them to sympathize with him. "Just give him a chance. Besides, I will be here to make sure he behaves."

Loki rolled his eyes even though it was probably in his best interest not too. "Yeah, because you did such a bang up job last time," Barton pointed out. "I'm sorry if I need a little more proof than your word that you can control him... ungag him and lets see what he has to say for himself."

Thor nodded and turned to Loki, not looking him in the eyes as he removed the gag gingerly. "Don't say anything you will regret," he warned him in a whisper, which earned him a disdainful look.

Loki knew the precarious position he was in and he wasn't stupid enough to screw it up. "I don't regret what happened, but I do regret that your planet got in the middle of a galactic war. It was… never my intention for so many to perish," he said, sticking as close to the truth as he could.

"What he is saying is true," Verified Thor. "He must say the truth to me. It is one of Odin's punishments."

Loki would have kicked Thor if he could have gotten away with it. "I'm sure your _friends _don't want to hear about the All Father's punishments," he said, trying not to sneer the word 'friends'.

"He still has his pride and I don't think any amount of torture could take that away," Tony observed and spoke up again before going over to the bar and pouring himself a drink. "But I say... what the hell? Let the drama queen stay. We have him under our thumb now. It could be fun," he smiled to the rest of the room.

"I'll need a drink, too," sighed Natasha with an impatient wave of her fingers.

A few weeks after that, everyone was almost used to Loki being around. No one ever saw him by himself. If he made an appearance at all, it was alongside Thor as a silent shadow. When he was alone, he was shut tight inside the mansion's extensive library. The fact that the Avengers team still knew almost nothing about their psychopathic housemate left them uneasy. He was like a ghost, lingering in the air like a threat, yet not tangible or even really real at all.

It wasn't until one night when the avengers all had a bit too much too drink that they began to see a few little cracks in Loki's protective shell.

Loki hadn't planned on drinking, but he watched as his brother consumed more alcohol than even a god of thunder should and suddenly felt like he really had nothing to lose. Loki always liked to keep his wits about him, especially while in the lion's den, but he wanted to forget… if only for one night.

Thor swung an arm aver Loki's chair. His brother always did get super affectionate when drunk. "Come, brother. Have another drink. They call this a beer," he slurred, his voice low enough for only Loki to hear. He felt Loki tense against him, but it did not make him back away. "I've learned that the best way to bond with foreigners is to fit in. Learn their customs, their manners. Learn how they have fun."

"I don't want a beer... don't you remember what happened the last time I got drunk?" Loki reminded him, keeping his voice soft. He was referring to the time he became intoxicated with Thor's friends and Fandral dared Loki to do a strip tease. He had ended up on his belly with Fandral thrusting inside of him… something Thor had never really forgiven him for.

Thor erupted drunkenly with laughter at the memory, though inside he burned with anger. Loki was born with a gift for manipulation. "Well, I'm safe from competition here. Maybe you should," he suggested against his ear.

Tony watched from a distance as he shot another glass of tequila down his throat. It burned pleasantly on its way down. He was currently trying to understand the two brother's seemingly intimate relationship, but he knew it was probably just far more complex for anyone other than themselves to fully understand it. Still, he was curious to try.

"What makes you so sure you have no competition here?" Loki whispered. He felt eyes on him and looked up at Tony across the room. In the past few weeks, Loki found that he rather liked the Iron Man's eyes focused on him… like they were trying to dissect everything about him. He smirked at the mortal before turning back to his brother. "There is always competition for me."

"Oh, so you're still going to play those games? After everything?" Thor asked, trying not to sound demanding. His arm was still possessive around Loki's smaller shoulders. "You really think you can seduce any of these humans into your bed? I think you have done far too much damage for that, brother," he told him cockily.

"I don't mean to play games," Loki said suddenly, the truth like vomit from his lips. It left a bitter taste in his mouth that he drowned with another shot of vodka. He was quiet for a moment as he watched the others converse around them. "Has there been too much damage to get back into your bed?" he asked suddenly as he stood up and took Thor's empty bottle to replace it.

Thor was clearly surprised by that. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Well, it won't be easy," Thor stood firm, though his poise lacked confidence and alcohol blurred his mind and judgment.

Tony continued to watch from behind his bar. The others were far too distracted to notice the odd interaction of the brother demi-gods on the other side of the room, but he continued to look at them with suspicious fascination.

Loki's fingers brushed Thor's as he handed him another bottle of beer. "Nothing worth it ever is."

Thor seemed to consider that with a small smile. "Why now? Because my conscious is weak?" he asked.

"Yes," Loki said before he could stop himself. "It is easier to get you into bed when you are drunk."

"I thought it was the other way around," Thor mused, taking a deep swig of his beer. "Perhaps we should retire to bed early, then," he suggested quietly.

"Not yet," Loki said quietly feeling Stark's eyes on them. "We should perhaps retire separately." He knew the others already thought Thor was under some sort of spell. They didn't need any more ammunition against him.

Thor didn't want to retire separately. He wanted to throw Loki onto his back right now and have his way with him. "You are too paranoid. I'd say you have done well so far in this human world with your former enemies surrounding you. I am surprised."

"I have stayed out of the way and kept my mouth shut. Of course I'm doing well. Just wait until something goes wrong... who do you think they will blame then?" Loki asked him.

Thor seemed to think on that a moment, his mind slower with the alcohol. "I will protect you and whatever honor you still have," he told him with his head held high, a slight teasing smile on his lips.

Loki rolled his eyes at his brother but his lips twitched into a smile. "The mighty Thor will protect me, then?"

"Always. You know that," Thor smirked arrogantly, though he knew the only thing Loki needed protection from was himself. Even without his powers of trickery and magic, he could still defend himself. But Thor liked thinking that he at least served some purpose in his life. "Come with me now," he tried again.

Loki wondered what power Thor really had over him, with or without their father's curse. It was almost something instinctual that had him wanting to follow any order that came from Thor's mouth. Maybe part of him knew Thor will one day be his king, whether he wanted him to be or not. What ever it was, even now, when he was long past the childish need to be like his brother, he still felt the urge to obey him.

"After you, your highness," Loki said a little sarcastically. "Be sure and let your friends know you are retiring for the night."

Thor did not want to stop for distractions. It had been so long since he and Loki were this close that he could not wait another moment. "I don't think they will come looking for us," he smiled sneakily as he placed his palm on Loki's back and practically shoved him out of the room.

When they finally reached the hallway that led to the bedrooms, Loki pushed Thor up against a wall. "You have to be more discreet," he chastised.

Thor wouldn't have tolerated Loki's dominance if he were just slightly more sober. Instead, he just leaned against the wall and grinned. "I don't care if they know. We never used to care," he mumbled seductively, nuzzling his brother's lips with his own.

Loki shut his eyes and leaned into Thor's body. "It's different here. Humans wouldn't understand," he said, suddenly pulling away. "Maybe we shouldn't do this."

Loki was learning more about these human's technology, their own pathetic form of magic, and he was pretty sure Stark's A.I. kept track of everything that went on in this house. Loki felt like he was being watched every second of every day.

Thor grabbed Loki and switched their positions, shoving him against the wall and leaning his body against his. He held his panic down. He was terrified that Loki had just been leading him on. "Stop it. Don't do this to me," he practically begged.

Loki reached a hand up to cup Thor's face in his palm. "All right," he said, and leaned forward to kiss him gently.

Thor visibly relaxed. The look in Loki's eyes then, the pity and the compassion and the _love _was enough to inflame him with lust all over again. He kissed him harder, tasting him deeply for the first time in too long. He was so drunk that he was willing just to take Loki here and now, not even realizing that they were still in the hallway.

Loki pulled away enough to lean his forehead against Thor's. "Your room," he said, pushing him away from him.

Thor gave Loki a smirk and grabbed his arm to stumble over to his room. His room and Loki's room were right beside one another for the purpose of Thor being close at all times to keep him in line. Once he opened the door and shoved them both inside, he shut it and slammed Loki against it, kissing him hard again. "Did you miss this? Did you miss me?" he asked quietly, as if it was a secret. So much had happened between them that he didn't expect to ever touch him like this again. It was overwhelming. In his mind, he knew he shouldn't. Loki would just hurt him in the end. They were no longer children.

"Yes, everyday we were apart I missed you," Loki admitted. He ran his hand up Thor's shirt.

Thor shivered. He wanted so desperately to believe him. "Then prove it to me," he demanded, practically tearing Loki's clothes off until he was shirtless against him and his hands slid down his abdomen to the waist of his trousers. "These human clothes make you look silly," he teased.

"You were the one that insisted we wear them," Loki pointed out a bit breathlessly. "It's been awhile for me," he added as his hands unfastened Thor's pants and pushed them down.

Thor exhaled, his cock throbbing painfully with impatience. He was surprised to hear it. He had expected Loki to always be promiscuous. "Was I your last?" he asked, though he almost didn't want to know. He kissed him hard when he realized he was afraid of the answer. Loki lost himself in the sensation and did not answer. He peeled off the rest of his own clothes and helped Thor with his before leading them both away from the door.

Thor practically stumbled into the bed that was still unmade from last night's rest. He was used to servants, and even his own mother, cleaning and making his bed. So here, in the Avenger's Mansion, they were left to be neglected.

Thor lay back and spent a moment just worshipping Loki's body with his hungry eyes, mapping out his chest with his hands. Loki was tall and lean and beautiful, his blue eyes shining in the dim light of the room. Before he could get carried away, however, Thor grabbed Loki and roughly slammed him onto his back.

Loki moaned at the feeling of Thor's bulkier body move on top of him. He had always been jealous of Thor's muscles. Every man on Asgard was large, and although Loki was tall like the others, his own body remained lean. It always made him feel even more different. He ran his fingers down Thor's back. "I've missed this… us together like this," he said again.

Thor smirked and allowed his heavy hands to travel down Loki's thighs, prying them apart until he was stretched around his hips. "Again, you're going to have to prove it to me. You betrayed me most of all, remember," he warned, his voice thick with lust, and then pressed two fingers against the other man's red mouth to be sucked. "Wet them," he demanded. Thor had never been one for foreplay, and Loki had never seemed to mind.

Loki rolled his eyes but obediently sucked on Thor's fingers as suggestively as he could. He pulled away to nip at the tip of Thor's index finger. "You will forgive me one day, you always do."

"You are what these humans call a brat," Thor told him, his voice slurred as he felt the warm suction on his fingers.

Loki pulled Thor back into a kiss, his hands tangling in his long, blonde hair tightly. Thor moaned into his mouth and his hand traveled between Loki's legs to run his wet fingers along his entrance. "Mmmm. You're wet," he mused, finally forcing his fingers inside and pulling back to watch Loki take them.

"I told you..." Loki panted. "...it's been awhile."

Thor smirked, easily working him open as if his body were starved for it. A moment later, he grabbed Loki by the hips, threw him onto his stomach, and surged his cock into him roughly and cried out from the impossibly tight, warm wetness that encircled him.

Loki yelped. He braced himself against the headboard, knowing how enthusiastic Thor could be in bed. He hoped they didn't break this one. That would be hard to explain to the others.

Usually, Thor would take Loki roughly without consideration, but this time, he leaned over to whisper in his ear, "You alright?" He felt Loki's body tensing around him, but still accepting him like he was meant to be there.

It was strange. Having someone ask him that. Loki growled. "Yes, of course. Stop messing around and fuck me."

Thor's laughter vibrated through their bodies and he grabbed Loki's hips to raise them off the bed. "You are beautiful," he whispered, not giving Loki a chance to respond snidely before he began to pound into him as hard as he could, spreading his legs open to penetrate him as deep as possible.

Loki groaned and leaned his head against the pillow and pushed back into Thor, meeting him thrust for thrust, unaware that they were indeed being watched.

Thor and Loki had not been discrete, at least not to Tony. Though he was plenty intoxicated, the Iron Man had seen the two brothers interacting as if they were much more than that and even stumble out of the room locked on each other's arms as if they were about to do something that required privacy.

So naturally, it all made Tony even more curious. It was important to know that Loki wasn't trying to trick them all by whatever he was about to do. It was important to know that he wasn't just trying to seduce Thor, who was supposed to be the only one who could control him. So Tony snuck off to his lab where he had his security cameras. Naturally, he had placed one in every room.

Some may call him paranoid. He just called himself careful.

Against the stern warning of JARVIS, Tony squinted his eyes as he turned on the monitor and looked closely at the image in front of him. When it came into plain view, he shot back and had to swallow his own exclamation. Thor had Loki on his stomach, fucking him like an animal.

"Harder!" Loki demanded, wanting it to hurt. "I want you to fuck me harder…"

Thor snarled, grabbed Loki's slim hips with one hand and his short, messy black hair with the other and pounded into Loki so hard he knew he would be bleeding. "Like this?" he growled, watching as Loki's body bounced back against him with each thrust.

"Yes!" Loki moaned, because he wanted to feel like he was being punished.

Thor continued to pound into Loki until he felt him tense under the pain, and despite every inch of his body and soul wanting to ignore it and continue taking him, he slowed down to a stop, though he did not pull out. "I'm hurting you," he panted heavily. "Turn around, let me see you."

"No!" Loki shouted firmly as he gripped the sheets. "Keep going."

When it came to physical strength, Thor always had the upper hand on his younger brother, and ever since they reached puberty, he always liked to show it. But this time, Thor was gentle as he pulled out and forced Loki onto his back underneath him. "Calm down," he said softly, his hand stroking his face. "I'm not going to stop. I'm just not going to hurt you too much," he insisted, pushing back inside him slowly.

"Don't," Loki tried to sound threatening, not wanting it to be this intimate.

"Shhhh," Thor soothed, his lips against his as they breathed into each other's mouths, only moving slowly inside of him. "Take it easy."

Loki jerked his head sharply to the side and away from Thor's lips. "If I wanted to take it easy I wouldn't have seduced you," he said sharply. "Stop messing around and fuck me already."

"I'm not going to hurt you," Thor told him sternly as he continued to rock into him gently. He knew something was on Loki's mind. He thought he deserved this. He thought he deserved punishment. "Look at me, Loki," he demanded.

Something broke in him them, whether it was Thor's gentle touches or the look in the other God's eyes, he didn't know, but he let out a sob without meaning to. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Thor stopped the instant Loki began to sob. Still inside of him, he leaned his chest on his and shook his head. "Shhh, love, shhh. It's alright, love," he whispered, cupping his face in his hands and running his thumb across his smooth cheek.

"It's not! Everything went so wrong and then I fell into that abyss and then The Other found me and they wanted Asgard but I had to talk them into Earth," he cried, rambling and not making much sense. "I just wanted to keep you safe after all I had done…"

"Hush, love," Thor pleaded, still stroking his face. "I know all these things. I know what happened to you. I should have been the one protecting you, I should never let any of it happen to you," he whispered regrettably.

Loki breathed deeply, trying to get control of himself. "That's not your job."

"Yes it is. It always has been. I'm your big brother," Thor told him. "I've failed you."

"No, you haven't," Loki shook his head.

"Yes, I have," Thor told him again. "Stop crying, love."

Tony was pacing back and forth in the lab, trying to process what he had just seen and ignoring the 'I told you not to look' lecture from JARVIS. He had never seen Loki like this before, ashamed and broken and... apologizing.

"I broke your heart, I know I did," Loki said softly.

"You broke my heart a thousand times, Loki... my heart was already broken when you did this," Thor told him sadly, thinking of all the times he had caught his brother in his friend's beds. "But it's alright, I forgive you... we still have this," he whispered, nuzzling his face with his.

"We will always have this," Loki promised him

"I've hurt you, too. So no more talk of apologies," Thor insisted, still stroking his face as he closed the inch of space between their lips with a solid kiss. Loki moaned and tasted his own tears on there lips. He wrapped his legs tighter around Thor's waist and encouraged the God of Thunder to keep going.

Thor continued to kiss him deeply and braced himself to thrust roughly into Loki's body, holding his legs apart as he found that spot inside of him he knew well. "Gods, you feel so good," he panted.

Loki arched when Thor's impressive cock found that sweet spot inside of him. He couldn't even think straight enough to respond and his sharp tongue silenced to only whimpers and moans, and Thor wondered if a god himself could worship as he watched the pleasure consume Loki. Thor moaned loudly, his mouth open and eyes steady on Loki as he began to feel his own orgasm rise.

Loki knew he was going to come without Thor even laying a hand on his cock. His fingers gripped Thor's shoulders hard enough to have made a human bleed when he felt his orgasm overtake him. He was quiet when he came, centuries if sneaking around with Thor had taught him to be, and he lay panting afterwards as his internal muscles squeezed Thor's cock in a vice grip.

Though Loki was silent, Thor cried out loudly and thrust into his tight body a few more time before he pulled out and took himself in hand. "You want me to come on you?" he panted, wanting to hear Loki's voice.

"I would rather you have came inside me… I would have kept your seed in me as long as I could," Loki whispered as he watched Thor get himself off.

Thor's mouth dropped open as he spurted his come all over Loki's heaving chest before he collapsed on top of his mess with an exhausted grunt. "You know I can't do that," he said once he could speak.

Loki sighed sadly. "I will talk you into it one day... or trick you into it."

Thor's eyes closed from drowsiness. "Why would you want to do that?" he asked, because he knew Loki wanted far more than just his come inside of him. He wanted his child and always had.

The spell Odin used forced him to speak and to be honest and Loki should have known better than to bring it up at all. "Because then you will be tied to me forever and no one would be able to say I don't belong any longer."

"No one but yourself ever claimed that you did not belong. And you will always be tied to me," Thor reminded him. "I know that you have lost so much, but it does not mean you have to do that." He knew that it must have hurt Loki to be torn away from his children, though he would never admit it.

Loki wrapped his arms tightly around Thor's neck and buried his face in his shoulder. He didn't want to talk about it anymore. It brought up to many bad memories and left the emptiness in his gut in agony.

"Shhhh," Thor soothed him again. He ran his fingers through his messy, black hair. "I'm sorry, lover. I shouldn't have brought it up. One day... maybe you will convince me," he whispered the secret into his ear in hope that it would make Loki feel better.

Loki smiled against Thor's skin. "One day," he repeated the words like a long lost prayer.

Back in the lab, Tony demanded the computers to shut down, lock the surveillance away in a protected vault, and then ran off to take a very cold shower to wash away the metaphorical dirt on his skin that made his legs shake and his head to spin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Vindicated (3/13)  
**Authors:** A Darker Heaven  
**Fandom:** Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers)  
**Pairing:** Tony Stark/Loki, Thor/Loki  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Warnings:** Slash, mpreg.  
**Spoilers:** Avengers (the movie)  
**Word Count: **3,216  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel.  
**Summary: **After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.  
**A/N:** This story was originally written as an RPG, which explains any shifty POV's. This chapter is not beta read.

That same night, Bruce Banner found Tony in his lab staring at his computer screen intently. The Iron Man's hair was still wet and uncombed from a shower and he wore a robe over his loose, flannel clothing. He reminded Bruce of a mad scientist on the brink of a new discovery, especially when he did not even sense his friend approaching.

Bruce peeked over Tony's shoulder to see what had caught the inventor's usually short attention span and his eyes widened when he saw what was on the screen. "Are you spying?"

Tony nearly fell off his chair but caught himself before he could end up on the floor. He quickly reached out to turn off the monitor. "No! I have these cameras for a reason, so- so I can make sure no one's breaking in, or breaking _out_," he convinced, still drunk. When Bruce just gave him a look, Tony knew he wasn't capable of being fooled. "And besides, it's a lot like trash TV., but... real."

"You were spying... or perving on Thor and Loki," Bruce smirked knowingly.

Tony gave his friend a surprised look. "So you knew about them? How is it that I didn't?" he demanded. "And I wasn't perving, I had no idea what was going to happen until I saw crazy drunken animal sex that turned into a soap opera half way."

Bruce shrugged. "I always suspected there was something more to the story Thor told us. He was a little too desperate to get his brother back after Loki had tried to kill him... I don't think anyone but us and maybe Natasha has figured it out."

"Well, the whole damn mansion will know soon by the way they were going at it. This is definitely the last thing I thought was going to happen after a night of drinking," Tony sighed, but something else had stood out to him. "They were kind of weird about something… like it would have been the end of the world if he… didn't pull out."

Before Bruce could reply, both men heard a loud _ding_ echo through the lab, and one of Tony's robotic inventions reached out to offer them a bowl of semi-burnt popcorn. "Finally! I should have had this minutes ago," Tony mumbled to himself as he grabbed a handful.

Bruce rolled his eyes. They had become close friends, but Bruce always knew parts of Tony would always remain a mystery. "Well, I doubt gods have to worry about STD's, so maybe some of the myths about Loki are true," he suggested. "If even half of them are true it would explain why he's so crazy. Sleeping with your own brother can't be healthy, either."

"What do you mean about the myths?" Tony asked, because Bruce obviously knew a lot more about it than he did. "And technically, he's not his real brother."

"I was told that Thor didn't know Loki was adopted until recently and they have obviously been doing it long before that," Bruce pointed out. "I don't remember much about the myths but I do remember Loki had several children and some of them he carried himself. They called him the 'Mother of Monsters' because many of his children were considered monstrous."

Tony stopped to consider that, though he did not question Bruce further. What kind of monster spawns of Loki were out there? How many were there? "Well… maybe it's best we didn't know details. But I seriously question Thor's ability to control him, now."

"I'd question anyone who thinks they can control him," Bruce agreed wholeheartedly, making the bitterness he still harbored very clear. "Loki has a way of getting in your head. We have all lost our vigilance around him. He needs to be in a cell at SHIELD."

Tony took another mouthful of popcorn. "You really think that? I think if he were planning on betraying us, I think he would have done it already. He wouldn't be having emotional breakdowns like I just saw him have," he argued, because no matter what he believed about the mysterious demi-god, he knew what he had just witnessed was real.

"I think he is biding his time, waiting on us to let our guard down. We never got the full story on what really happened with the Chitauri. We know he was tortured, but beyond that, who knows what really happened?"

"I think there's a lot more to the story, sure, but I also believe Loki is a lot more broken than we all believe he is," Tony said, knowing that Bruce may never understand his more optimistic point of view. He was one of the skeptical ones and always has been. "Come on, join me on the roof?" he proposed suddenly as he grabbed a bottle of scotch and the bowl of popcorn. He suddenly was in desperate need of some fresh air.

"I think I'll just go to bed. I want to get started on a new project tomorrow... Don't get too much more trashed," Bruce warned him. "The Hulk won't be there to catch you if you fall off the roof."

Loki couldn't sleep. Not even the pleasant tingling aftermath of orgasm in his belly could lull him into rest.

He quickly dressed and snuck out of Thor's room, leaving his sleeping brother alone in the large bed. Thor's habit of passing out after sex was one of his less endearing qualities. Loki didn't know how Thor managed to keep so many women satisfied.

Loki had planned on going straight back to his room, but the moment he stepped into the hallway, he felt the cold night air calling him like a whisper and he followed its direction lazily. It might be nice to be along with the stars for a while. Perhaps it was what he needed.

He couldn't allow himself to break down like that again. He wouldn't allow it.

The roof of the Avengers mansion was chilly, but the cold had never bothered him. The cold was refreshing and comforting and made him feel more like himself. As a child, he had been considered weak by the other children for his intolerance to heat. At least now he knew why.

The top of the building was peaceful, even with the steady city noise hundreds of feet below him. Loki sat on the edge and closed his eyes, feeling the icy breeze blow through his t-shirt and feeling weighed down like a bird with clipped wings.

"Sir, Loki is also on the roof," JARVIS notified Tony quietly when he was halfway to the rooftop door. Tony just thanked him and continued forward until he was facing Loki's back. The demi-god looked... worn down. He looked so, so young.

"Wait, don't jump, you have a lot to live for," Tony muttered sarcastically, trying to ignore the fact that he had just watched gay, incestuous demi-god porn featuring him.

Loki's tensed visibly when he felt the mortal join him and disrupt his solitude. He opened his eyes, looked down, and raised an eyebrow. "That fall would not kill me, not even without my magic," he lied. He thought perhaps that the mortal was looking for a fight... he was probably still bitter after throwing him out that window before the battle. Loki smirked at the memory.

"Wouldn't kill me, either. So don't even try," Tony teased, taking a step forward when Loki finally turned to face him. "You look a little worse for wear. You trashed?"

Such bright, innocent, blue eyes on such a corrupt creature.

"No, I am tired," Loki replied sharply. "But you are... 'trashed', that is." He had been able to pick up Earth's lingo faster than Thor had, but then again he always had a skill for language. "I'm not doing anything wrong so you can go back to tinkering with your machines or whatever it is you do down there in your basement."

"I'm not claiming you are doing anything wrong. I'm not here to check in on you. My job isn't to babysit you, thank god," Tony smiled, holding out the bottle to Loki as an offering.

Loki eyed the bottle warily. The mortal didn't seem like the type to try and poison him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't. "Even if I was desperate enough to drink that..." he began to say automatically, but then stopped. Even if the strange mortal had come up with some sort of poison to kill a god (and if any mortal could do it, it would be Stark) would it really matter? His life was over as far as he was concerned and he would never get his magic back.

Loki snatched the bottle and gulped down the rest of the contents quickly, actually hoping that the clever man had come up something to end his life. When the bottle was empty and he felt no ill affects, he frowned at it in his hands.

Tony just watched. "That bottle was expensive."

Loki sighed with disappointment and sat the bottle down beside him. "I hear you are rich, so what does it matter to you?" he growled, looking out over the city lights and hoping Tony would get the hint and go away.

Tony smirked at Loki's simple knowledge of humans. "It doesn't. Do you want another?"

"No, I shouldn't," Loki refused, the liquor already relaxing his tongue. "It is not as strong as the drink we have on Asgard, but I am what you humans refer to as a 'light weight'."

Tony laughed out loud at that. "So is Thor," was all he said.

Loki watched the other man for a moment before asking suspiciously, "What is it that you are trying to accomplish here?"

"You mean right here, right now?" Tony asked. "I'm getting fresh air. Same as you are. It can get stuffy in that mansion."

"I mean you acting... non hostile," Loki said awkwardly, not able to think of the right word for how Tony Stark was acting.

Tony smiled. "I could ask the same of you. I'm not the one that tried to take over the world with no regard for the millions of humans that inhabit this planet."

"You humans slaughter each other in droves. Being ruled by me would have put a stop to that," Loki assured him, though he did not give Tony a chance to retaliate before he added, "I am playing along for now because I made a promise and Earth holds no interest for me anymore."

"You weren't here to save us; you were here to take over. You wanted to be a king," Tony said what they both knew to be true. "But I guess it doesn't matter now, does it? This _is_ your world now, in a way."

"I don't have a world," Loki said bitterly as a cold breeze swept through between them and caused the Iron Man to shiver despite the warm fuzz in his joints that the alcohol provided.

"Down here on Earth we call your kind emo," Tony teased, not expecting Loki to have any clue what he meant. "Usually it phases out of us when we hit out twenties."

Loki looked confused but did not comment on it, knowing it would just give Tony what he wanted. Stark seemed to like to hear himself talk almost as much as Loki did. "I'm going to bed," he announced suddenly as he moved away from the edge of the roof, still a little shaky from his time spent in the bedroom with his brother.

For some reason, Tony did not feel like this conversation, if it even was one, was over. He took a step backward, blocking Loki's direct path, and remembered when Loki first arrived. He had watched him curiously walk around the mansion, studying the computers closely and peeping through windows into locked rooms. The boy liked technology.

"You know, if you ever wanted to look at all my gadgets, I can show you around," Tony said, though he closed his eyes when he realized how wrong that sounded and sighed. "And that's not a euphemism."

Loki stopped and studied the other man closely, Stark was a hard man to figure out. He couldn't define what he was trying to do by playing nice. "Do you forget that I am the same being that through you out a window?" he asked bluntly.

Tony narrowed his eyes. Fine then, he won't be nice. "You really suck at this, even more than I do."

Loki frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter," Tony gave up, turning around to face the city lights and saying no more. Up above the other buildings, he felt like he was in his own wilderness in the clouds.

Loki wondered if he was wrong in assuming Tony was up to something. He hesitated for a moment before he spoke again. "I did not mean to offend... I am just not used to people offering me things without some kind of price," he admitted quietly.

"Well, I guess if we are supposed to trust you, you should also trust us," Tony shrugged. He really had to choose his words carefully when he spoke to Loki. His usual sarcastic jokes meant nothing to him.

Loki swallowed nervously. "In that case, I would very much like you to show me around your home," he offered as a peace gesture.

"Alright," Tony agreed after a brief moment of drunken confusion and shock that Loki actually wanted to. "Right now?" he asked awkwardly, not sure.

"Perhaps tomorrow. Powerful gods actually do need sleep, you know?" Loki said with a teasing smirk, hoping to lighten the awkwardness between them. "Besides, it's getting cold up here. You will catch your death."

Tony watched as Loki turned to walk back towards the door, saying nothing at first as the other man began to slip away.

"I've been tortured too, you know," he said suddenly to Loki's back, surprising both of them. Loki turned back around. "In a sweaty little shithole called Afghanistan. It's how I got this," he pulled down the collar of his shirt to show him his chest. "I know what it's like to be controlled against my will. Lucky for me, I was smarter than them. I know how much it can change a person. For me, it changed me for the better. Or at least, I like to think it did. I stopped allowing my weapons, my creations to kill innocent people. I changed, and so can you."

Loki suddenly appeared right in front of Stark and stared with childlike fascination at the arc reactor in the other man's chest. He reached to touch it, wanting to feel the only heart his magic couldn't penetrate.

Tony stumbled a bit, but caught himself. He hadn't expected Loki to get this close or to touch him. "Cool, huh? It's a bitch to maintain, though."

"This keeps you alive?" Loki's brow wrinkled in confusion as he tapped it with his fingers. "Someone did this to you?"

"Well, yes. But they did it to save me. I had pieces of shrapnel lodged into my chest, and this prevents it from entering my heart," Tony explained.

Loki's hand automatically went to Tony's shoulder to steady him when the other man swayed again. "It will pierce your heart... and you built this contraption?"

"Well, this one, yes," Tony answered awkwardly. "I've built a lot of things."

"I know. I've talked to the voice in the ceiling. He told me you built him," Loki said.

"You've met JARVIS. Maybe you would like some of my other creations. U, Butterfingers, and DUM-E," Tony said proudly with a grin.

Of course, Loki was curious as to what things the Iron Man kept in his laboratory, but he tried not to be too obvious about it. So he pulled his hand back and smiled. "Good night, Stark. Maybe tomorrow you can show me your little friends."

Tony fought back the urge to reach out for Loki again and keep him there. "Alright," he whispered reluctantly, right before he got dizzy, fell over, and entered a state of intoxicated exhaustion.

Loki caught Tony before he hit the unforgiving ground, but after he had the heavy human in his arms, he didn't really know what to do with him. Thankfully, JARVIS stepped in, and Loki realized this was obviously not the first time the computer had to deal with Tony drinking too much. So he picked the mortal up bridal style and carried him down the stairs and through the hall that led to Tony's bedroom. He prayed that he would not meet any of the others along the way. He wouldn't know how to explain this situation.

When Tony woke up, he began to laugh. "Are you _carrying_ me? Let me down, I can walk by myself."

"Obviously if you could walk I would not be carrying you," Loki said reasonably, not putting the other man down until they were in the bedroom and he could set him down near the bed. "You should not drink so much. Clearly you cannot handle it."

"I can handle it just fine," Tony insisted when finally his feet were firm on the ground. He held his tongue back from making a comment about how he held it a lot better than Thor had.

"You drink too much. I overheard the soldier talking about it."

"The soldier? He's great at talking shit, isn't he?" Tony snickered. "Thanks for.. carrying me to my bed. Please don't tell anyone. Let's keep it between me you and JARVIS."

Loki smirked at the thought of blackmail. "Don't tell Thor I was on the roof and I won't say anything," he proposed.

"Deal," Tony snorted. "Wait, why?"

"He would assume I was up to nefarious purposes, of course," Loki lied.

"Fine. I'm going to bed," Tony muttered as he tried to kick off his shoes and fell onto the floor again.

Loki rolled his eyes and helped the human up, not being very gentle this time as he shoved him onto his bed and pulled off his shoes himself. "You are a very troublesome human."

"So I've heard," Tony said, feeling embarrassed now that Loki was clearly annoyed. "I'm sorry."

Loki paused when he heard the apology. "Whatever for? It's not the first time I've put a drunkard to bed and it will probably not be my last."

Tony snickered at that. "I'm sure it's not," was all he said before he closed his eyes and passed out a second time. Within seconds, he was snoring.

Loki sighed and covered the human with blankets and took a moment to admire him while he was sleeping. Stark was a very pretty man. Loki didn't notice before, but with Stark's dark eyes, long eyelashes, and stocky but toned body, he was very attractive for a mortal. Loki shook his head, trying to clear those insane thoughts from his mind before he left the room.

That night, instead of dreaming of darkness and pain, of frost and fear, Loki dreamt of soft lips and a loving embrace. He was surprised when he realized that in his dream, the eyes that looked into his were not blue, but a deep brown.

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Vindicated (4/13)  
**Authors:** A Darker Heaven  
**Fandom:** Marvel Cinematic Universe (Avengers)  
**Pairing:** Tony Stark/Loki, Thor/Loki  
**Rating:** NC-17  
**Warnings:** Slash, mpreg.  
**Spoilers:** Avengers (the movie)  
**Word Count: **5,947  
**Disclaimer:** Not mine. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel.  
**Summary: **After Loki is defeated during his terror on Earth, Odin punishes him by taking away his powers and banishing him to join the Avengers with Thor to watch over him. At the Avengers mansion, Loki is treated like an outcast by everyone but Tony Stark, who is actually intrigued by him.  
**A/N:** This story was originally written as an RPG, which explains any shifty POV's. This chapter is not beta read.

Thor woke up the next morning with a headache. The uncomfortable pounding against his skull was almost enough to make him feel… human. He grumbled miserably and reached out to the empty, cold space beside him. Loki had not spent the night with him.

He knew that meant he had to check on him. He had to make sure last night wasn't a scheme to get him drunk and distract him so that he could make an escape. So reluctantly, Thor rolled out of bed, grabbed his clothes, put them on with some difficulty, and walked towards his brother's room.

Thor let himself inside without knocking and found Loki still in bed. He heaved a sigh of relief. "You didn't spend the night," he told his brother plainly, knowing he was awake.

Loki didn't want to get up this morning. Instead, he woke early and just stared at the wall, thinking about his dream. When he knew faking sleep wasn't an option, he rolled over to look at his brother. "No, of course not," he said. He sat up and made sure the bed sheet wrapped firmly around his nudity. "We should not do that again."

Thor tried to keep his expression stoic as he walked over to sit on the edge of the mattress, but he was not as skilled in the art of deceit as Loki was. "There is nothing wrong with what we do," he told him calmly.

"From what I have learned, most humans are monogamous. It's not like on Asgard where marriage is just a contract. Your human woman will not want you sleeping with others," Loki explained.

"Do you see me with my 'human woman'? I have not made contact with Jane. It is for the better," Thor corrected. "Don't act like any of it matters to you."

"Of course it matters to me. I watched you when you were with her. I know you cared for her. And if she makes you… happy, I will not be the one to keep you from her," Loki told him.

Thor shook his head. "She is human. She can never understand me. Not like you can, brother. Stop talking nonsense," he insisted, and if he could get away with childishly covering his own ears to avoid hearing Loki, he would have.

Loki grabbed Thor's hands and brought them into his own lap. "Thor, look at me," he coaxed his full attention. "I love you and you will always have me long after your human is dead and gone. I will still be here."

"I told you, I have not spoken to her. It is safer for her not to be here," Thor muttered stubbornly, but Loki's hand was warm and familiar in his. He looked away again.

"Since when do you worry so much? Who better to protect a human than the God of Thunder?" Loki reasoned gently.

"She just... doesn't belong here," Thor insisted, starting to get frustrated. He never really knew how to handle these emotions that seemed to rule him when he thought of Jane.

"Thor... brother," Loki whispered, knowing that would calm him down a bit. "I can show my love to you without us falling into bed together."

"I know this. How is that relevant?" Thor asked, suddenly too frustrated to think straight.

Loki sighed. "You are being irrational right now. We will talk about this when you are calmer. Leave me so I can get dressed," he demanded, sounding every bit like the spoiled prince that he was.

"And you can just move on, just like that? Is it because I won't give you a child?" Thor asked, not ready to go quietly and trying to strike Loki where he knew it would hurt.

That was too far. Loki grabbed the nearest lamp and through it a Thor's head in a sudden impulse of anger at his words. "Shut up and get out!" he yelled, not caring who else heard him. Thor dodged the lamp expertly and knew that he shouldn't open his big mouth again. He gave his brother a glare that said it all before he turned around and stormed out.

Loki sneered at the closed door. No one ever managed to anger him like his brother could. He got out of bed and got dressed in his traditional Migardian clothing, though none of it was armor. While Thor seemed to prefer jeans and t-shirts, Loki felt more comfortable in dark dress pants and white oxford shirts. It was just another way they were so different.

When he was completely dressed and headed for the door, he found it locked from the outside. He frowned and tried again, but he was interrupted by the voice in the ceiling. "Director Fury is in the mansion is calling for a meeting with the Avengers. I was asked to lock you in your room. I apologize for the inconvenience, sir," JARVIS informed him politely, and Loki wondered what they were up to now.

"You were asked to lock me in here, but were you asked to make sure I stay in here?" Loki asked, trying to find a loop hole.

"No, sir, I was not," JARVIS said, and Loki could swear he heard a smirk in the A.I.'s voice.

"Well, then," Loki smiled and began to pick the lock.

The Avengers were gathered in the living room per orders of Fury. There was another man with him that Natasha recognized as one of the doctors from SHIELD. She knew this wasn't about a mission.

Tony arrived to the meeting late as usual with a smoothie in his hand. All this technology and he never did find a cure for a hang over. Maybe he will work on that next. "You know, he's never going to stop acting like an animal in a cage if we all treat him like one," he announced as he entered the room, not needing to hear what they were saying to know who they were talking about. When they all looked at him, he just shrugged.

Fury rolled his good eye. "Loki _is_ the reason I called this meeting and I don't know how this information might affect him, so he was asked to stay behind," he told the group, though they all knew no one had asked Loki anything. "This is Dr. Adams. He noticed an abnormality with Loki and thought we should know about it."

"What is this about?" Thor was suddenly defensive. He knew what Loki was responsible for, but he would never stop trying to protect his honor.

The doctor looked a little uncomfortable around the Earth's mightiest heroes but he spoke up anyway. "After the battle, we did a basic x-ray on Loki just to make sure nothing was broken after his fight with the Hulk. At the time, I was just making sure nothing was broken and nothing was. But later when I went back and studied them more closely I noticed something odd about them."

"I thought what I was seeing was because they were aliens... I mean Asgardians. So I retrieved the x-rays of Thor from the hospital in New Mexico to compare and I saw." The doctor pulled up the images on the computer. "Thor has the bone development of a healthy 27 year old male, admittedly a very tall one, but it is very similar to human bones."

"Loki, however, has a much younger bone structure that more closely resembles a adolescent. Director Fury told me Loki was adopted so I assume whatever race he is ages slower than Asgardians do, which could explain his intense behavior shifts. By human terms… he is practically a teenager. His last MRI only further confirms his… immaturity."

Thor spoke up again, still moody from the argument with Loki. "And why does that matter? Why is it even any business of anyone?" he asked.

"I'm not at all surprised to hear that. Can we move on now?" Tony asked, bored with this meeting already. To him, this all seemed to be a waste of time.

"What we are essentially dealing with is a teenager with an unfathomable amount of power and an obvious mental instability and he is staying here on Earth with only your word that you can control him," Fury said pointing at Thor.

"I suppose I just don't understand," Thor interrupted. "Why does this suddenly change everything?"

It was the Black Widow that finally caught onto Thor's ignorance. "Thor, on Asgard you probably became a warrior around the time you were a teenager. But here on Earth it is different, you are not considered an adult until you are eighteen." she explained. "You can't make any decisions for yourself."

"I understand that. Loki is mentally a child. I still don't know why it changes everything," Thor mumbled.

"Children are not responsible for there actions like adults would be," Bruce said with a guilty look on his face as if he was remembering that he had caused Loki to need x-rays in the first place.

"That is not the point!" Fury said raising his voice. "I don't want a volatile child here any longer. Odin said he could learn his lesson, that he could be rehabilitated. But he is a child."

Sure, Tony thought, Loki was a child. He was a spoiled brat. But he was also older than any of them could even fathom. He yawned dramatically. "Thor has been great with Loki so far. He haven't even heard a word from him, come to think of it," Steve suddenly added to the conversation.

"Exactly. Loki is just biding his time, waiting for an opening. So far he has done nothing to challenge any of you, am I right?" Fury pointed out.

Thor opened his mouth as if to say something, but JARVIS interrupted. "I'm so sorry to interrupt sir," he began politely. "But it seems Loki has run off. I tried to talk him out of it, but I'm afraid he has ignored me."

How dare those mortal think of him as nothing but a child...

After picking the lock to his room, Loki had listened in on the secret meeting only to discover the humans and his brother were talking utter nonsense about him. He was no child, and he would not play by Thor's rules any longer.

Leaving the mansion was surprisingly easy. He had learned to pick locks before he had any control over his magic and the human's locks were bound by nothing but flimsy metal. His heart fluttered like a caged animal, but to his surprise, that did not change once he was out in the streets of the very city he had tried to destroy not too long ago. He realized that he didn't really have a plan or access to his magic... or did he? The All Father had left him with just one trick in order to fit in better with the Migardians and hide his monstrous cold, blue form. It had always been an unquestionable necessity, a survival technique. And he would take advantage of it, now.

A human woman walked by Loki at that moment and gave him a once over glance. She smiled at him as he walked past and it gave Loki a brilliant idea.

"Oh no..." was all Thor muttered as he panicked. His father would have his head if he knew he allowed Loki to slip through his grasp this quickly and easily. "We need to find him! Does your computer know where he went?" he asked frantically.

"No, sir, he would not tell me. But he went out the front door," JARVIS responded. Tony threw his hands in the air and rolled his eyes at the lack of security in his security systems.

"He shouldn't be too far. We will find him," Natasha told them, but Fury looked like he was about to explode.

Thor didn't want to admit that Loki could be halfway across the world by now. He hoped that he was only trying to get away, not to escape. He hoped this hadn't been his plan all along. This time, he would have a much harder time forgiving him. "Listen. I can find him. He doesn't know this world. He doesn't know where to go. And he will come back to me, I know it. Please, just... cut him some slack, as you humans say," Thor all but pleaded to Agent Fury, knowing that the man was not listening.

"There is a mad dog loose in New York City, people. You have twenty-four hours. If he is not back by then, SHIELD will get involved, and if we find him first he is our prisoner," Fury threatened, clearly only out of respect for Thor and his request to cut him slack.

"If he hurts anyone, it is my father who will decide what to do with him, not your people," Thor told him sternly, and wasting no more time, he beckoned the others to follow as he ran out of the mansion.

"Thor, do you have any idea of where he would go?" Natasha questioned as she and the others followed behind him closely.

"No. No idea. But he will either be where we least expect him to be or he will be hiding in plain sight," Thor told them regrettably. "Where he is depends on what he plans to do. And I have no idea what that is."

Loki really had no immediate plans when he left. He changed his form easily to lessen the risk of being spotted. This form was easy for him to shift into, and being a woman on Earth had its advantages.

But Thor was wrong when he said Loki had nowhere to go. Loki made 'friends' very easily and he was always able to adapt very quickly. So why was he already bored out of his mind and wanting to find Thor just to have a fight to entertain himself? Without his powers, he felt like an insect among insects. What excruciatingly boring lives are lived on this planet. No one recognized him, so he faded into the sea of mortals. The traffic in the street and the bright lights made him uncomfortable. Suddenly, he realized he needed to escape from his escape.

So when he saw Tony Stark walking into a bar, Loki smiled and followed him in.

Tony was sick of searching for Loki. The man was a cat in the dark and he could be anywhere. He wished that they had thought to microchip him. He vowed to insist on it when they found him… if they found him. He was also going to threaten to reprogram JARVIS when he returned to the mansion. Why had he let him go?

He normally didn't drink in bars. They were filthy, disgusting places, with filthy, disgusting people. His mansion was better. His whiskey was better. He had spoiled himself, after all, with having everything at his fingertips. But tonight, he wasn't feeling like the king of the world. He almost felt like a failure. He had put together this team of extraordinary people, only to watch it fall apart. He had wanted to prove to Fury that he was stable enough to be a member of the team, but obviously he had failed in that, too. He heard his own father's voice and decided to try to drown it out with alcohol.

He had given up. Who knew what Loki was really up to? There was no smoke, no fire, no screaming or shouting. Even the police sirens were quiet. And yet he still felt like at any moment, the world could end, and he was just too far away from his suit. Feeling utterly human and utterly defeated, Tony sat down at the bar and ordered his first drink.

In this bar, Tony was a stranger amongst strangers. It was a relief, actually, although he had to admit that most of the time he loved that the entire world's eyes were on him. He loved the celebrity lifestyle. But right now, he wanted to escape just as much as he was sure Loki had.

The paparazzi that usually stalked Stark did not come into the bar, Loki noticed, but that was no matter. They would have their incriminating photos soon enough. After all, every one knew Stark was in a relationship with Pepper Potts and Loki was going to destroy that... just because he could.

Loki slid into the seat beside Stark in his female form. Tonight he was in a skimpy, green cocktail dress because he had been on his way to a casino when he spotted Stark.

"May I buy you a drink?" he purred into the other man's ear.

Tony was startled when he turned to see the only woman in the bar speaking to him. She was beautiful, with haunting green eyes and a short dress. It actually startled him. She was too pretty to be a whore, and Tony realized he had nothing to lose. "Sure, why not?" he answered with amusement. "Do you know who I am?" he asked her a moment later.

"Everyone knows who you are, Anthony Stark," Loki said with a smirk. "But don't worry. I'm not after your fame."

Tony chuckled warmly into his whiskey. "Oh?" he gave the woman a sly smile. This might not be an awful night, after all. "What are you after, then?"

"From what I hear..." Loki said, reaching out to slide a hand down Tony's chest. "You are magnificent in the bedroom. I suppose I want to see if that is true."

Tony seemed to consider this for a moment, though in his mind, it was already decided that he was going to ravish this girl tonight. "This place is a dump. How would you like to come with me and have some real liquor?" he suggested.

"Lead the way." Loki said stepping away from the bar to slide his arm around Tony's waist.

Tony was buzzed, but not too drunk not to know what he was doing. Maybe it was good for him. Maybe it was good to go out to a trashy bar, find a beautiful girl, and fuck her. So he allowed himself to wrap his own arm around her slim waist and walk out of the bar, tipping the bartender far more than he made in a week.

The paparazzi had scattered by the time they walked onto the street. Tony only made it only a few feet out onto the street before he grabbed the girl and shoved her against the wall of a nearby alley and planted his lips hard on hers.

Loki's surprise was the only reason Tony was able to maneuver him so easily. Usually, he was the one to make the first move with a lover… except with Thor, and he really didn't want to think about his brother right now. He soon relaxed into the kiss, feeling Tony's tongue against his, before the flash of a camera had him pushing Stark away.

Tony stepped out into the light. "Oh, for fuck's sake! Don't you people have anything better to do? I hear Britney Spears shaved her head!" he called out to them in anger before turning back to the girl. "Come on, we can still go..." he tried as he grabbed her hand.

A loud crash of violent thunder caused them all to jump and for the paparazzi to fall to distraction. Loki jerked his hand away from Tony's and tried to back into the shadows with startled fear in his eyes. Tony should know by now what follows such a random clap of thunder, but he was still surprised to see Thor soar down from the sky, grab the girl, and fly off.

And as if that wasn't strange enough, Tony watched the wide-eyed fear in the girl's expression and it looked alarmingly familiar.

Loki fought to get out of Thor's arms, not caring that the other god might drop him. They landed on top of the Avengers mansion a few minutes later with a thud, and still in his female form, Loki promptly punched Thor across the jaw hoping it would cause him to let go.

Thor allowed the strike, but knew that Loki was not applying all of his strength. It did not prevent him from roughly pinning him against the wall as if at any moment he would be gone again. "You punch like a woman. And what were you thinking, brother?! Running away like that! I swear, it must be the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do! And what were you doing with Tony Stark!?" he demanded all at once, thunder roaring over their heads.

Loki looked up to the clouds, judging Thor's anger by how the strong the storm was. "It is none of your concern. It is my business," he snarled, and his knee collided with Thor's groin. He didn't have to play fair, especially when he was in heels.

Thor winced and punched Loki hard in the mouth in retaliation. "Stop it! I am not above fighting you in this female form. It is my business because I am responsible for you! I could tell father, and how do you think he would handle it?!" his tone was threatening.

Loki spit blood onto Thor's face to show him just what he thought about that.

It hurt. Not physically, of course, but Thor felt a pang in his heart that sank in his chest. He tried a different tactic, one that may actually work. His anger melted away and he gave his brother a sincere look. "Loki, don't do this. Please. I don't want to hurt you. I want for you to be happy... but you don't speak to me!" he pleaded, his grip still too strong to break.

Loki growled and struggle in Thor's hold despite the futility of it. "If I wanted to speak to you I would, you over grown oaf! Now let me go! I don't have to stay here with you!"

Thor gave him a hurt expression. "What have I ever done, Loki? Other than protect and love you... what have I ever done to deserve your betrayal?"

"I'm tired of always being in your shadow! I have a right to make my way in this world without you or those that see me as some sort of petulant child! I heard you in there discussing me," Loki seethed. Sometimes he really didn't know where all his anger came from. Or perhaps he did. Maybe some part of him remembered what it was like to be left for dead just a few hours after being born.

"So perhaps you have heard me also defending you. I know it isn't true. I only want to see you thrive and I want to see you happy. That is why I am doing this, please believe me," he shoved him harder against the wall as if to shove the truth into him.

Loki was about to say something offensive when Natasha and Clint rushed onto the roof. He gave Thor a mischievous look before he started screaming, "Please, help me! Please!"

"Thor, what's going on?" Natasha asked, reaching for her gun.

Thor rolled his eyes, not letting go despite Loki's girlish cries of fear. "Oh, please, he is just trying to fool you. He has shifted forms so humans cannot see through his disguise," he told them, though he didn't know what to do if they didn't believe him.

Clint raised an arrow and pointed it at Loki as if already sure of Thor's story. "You said he couldn't use magic here so how is he doing this?" he asked.

"You'll have to ask him that. Just help me get him inside. Come, brother," the thunder god demanded as he tugged him into the mansion.

"I'm not going in there!" Loki yelled, trying to punch Thor again. "Go find your little human whore and stop man handling me!"

Thor said nothing as he forced Loki inside and into his room. He ignored the others who followed and shut them out of the room. "Loki. This isn't you. Please, talk to me. We both knew this wasn't going to be easy... living with these humans. But you have been doing so well so far. I thought... _we _were doing so well," he sighed, releasing Loki and knowing there was no room for him to run now. At least not without going through Thor first.

Loki snarled but he did not feel that his rage was articulate enough in this form, so he changed back, ripping the dress off of himself, kicking off the heels, and grabbing a sheet from his bed to hide his nakedness. "I don't want this, this redemption. I would rather be punished than have to try and play nice with these humans that only want to see me dead!"

Thor felt the frustration rise up in him again when it was clear Loki did not understand. He opened the door, reached out his hand, and felt the muzzle suddenly fly into his palm, all while not taking his eyes off of Loki. "I don't want to do this. I sincerely don't. But it may be the only way for you to listen."

He shut the door again, reached forward, and clamped the muzzle tightly on his face before Loki even had time to protest. Loki had always suspected Odin had added a spell to the muzzle and his suspicions were proven right when he felt something like a needle pierce his skin.

He tried to scream when he felt it again and his body bent down violently. He tried to curl into himself and his fingers clawed into his own skin as he panicked and tried to get the muzzle off.

Thor's first instinct was to rush over to his brother and remove the muzzle, but he stopped himself after just one step forward and glared at him instead. "I don't believe you," he said. "Stop fooling around, Loki, I don't believe you!"

Loki was on his knees now, the sheet wrapped loosely around his hips. He reached out for Thor desperately trying to communicate with his eyes that it was no trick. When he felt the blood trickle down, he hoped that would be proof enough.

"I didn't want to put it on you. But it was the only way I could get you to listen to me. I'm afraid for you, brother. I'm afraid of you repeating what you've done before, and breaking my heart all over again," he told him. "No one here wants to hurt you, Loki, despite how much you've caused them pain."

Loki tried to think outside the pain but it was too much and he had to shut his eyes. The blood in his mouth finally ran out from under the muzzle and down his neck to his chest.

Thor's eyes widened. Whether this was magic or not, he could not risk being unsure. He ran over to Loki and immediately took off the muzzle. He gasped when he saw that Loki's lips were sewn tightly and painfully together. "What has happened? What is this?" he demanded frantically, though he knew Loki could not answer.

It came to Loki then just how he might be able to end the spell. He grabbed Thor's face and brought it closer to his so their foreheads touched. It was the closest to an apology that he could give. As soon as he did, the silver threads holding his lips together vanished but the wounds inflicted by them did not. He gasped painfully for air and tore himself away from Thor. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he rasped in case the spell tried to reverse itself.

Thor, feeling utterly helpless, had his mouth open in shock after Loki initiated the intimate contact that somehow released his lips from their cruel bondage. He heaved an immense sigh of relief and grabbed Loki to bring him close again, soothing him. "Shhhh, shhh, hush, brother, I will clean you up. Come..." he whispered as he wrapped an arm around his waist to guide him to the bathroom.

Loki allowed himself to be guided. He was quiet as they entered the bathroom.

Thor was sure the close the door behind him. Just because Loki was acting genuine again did not mean he trusted him not to try and pull a fast one on him again. "It's alright. I believe there are things here that will help the wounds," he soothed, rummaging through the cabinets. "Bruce will know what to do. Will you allow it?"

Loki was too tired to fight and nodded hesitantly. "Bruce! Come quick!"

There was a knock on the bathroom door fairly quickly and Bruce came in with his medical bag due to JARVIS's prompt. "What happened?" he asked, looking over Loki and his obviously wounded mouth. He did not step closer, though his first reaction was to help. He knew there was no telling what Loki would do if he were startled.

"I'll explain later. I know you have some medicine to speed the healing," Thor said, stepping away to let Bruce do what he needed. "Don't worry, he knows better than to lash out on you. I believe it was my father's magic that did this to him."

Bruce stepped closer as he inspected the wounds. "I can clean them. If his healing factor is anything like yours, nothing else will be needed," he said, rummaging through his kit. He did not look the other man in the eyes as he began to clean the wound that have already stopped bleeding, but Loki watched every move he made carefully as if he were waiting for the Hulk to appear.

Thor sighed. "Make sure he does not leave his room. I need some air, so to speak."

Bruce nodded as Thor left. "You know, you could be nicer to him. He's done nothing but stand up for you and you went and ran away," Bruce told the demi-god bravely, but Loki said nothing. Bruce sighed when he was done and handed Loki a tube of Neosporin.

"Put that on it and make sure you don't repeat whatever it is you did to get those wounds in the first place."

That was when Tony, finally arriving at his mansion, stormed through its doors. He was still buzzed and angry and so unbelievably confused that he did not even feel like himself. All he was sure of was that he had to find Loki. He had to know if it was true. "Where's the little bitch?!" he demanded, and the only one to answer him was JARVIS.

"If you are referring to Loki, sir, he is in his lavatory. He had a little bit of an injury," the computer explained.

When Tony came storming into the bathroom, Loki's shoulders tensed. "Hey, Tony," Bruce said quietly.

Tony ignored his friend. "I want to talk to him. Alone," he demanded, his eyes not leaving Loki's, not even to blink.

"Why? What's going on? I'm not sure if you should rile him up right now," Bruce suggested, acting like they were in a room with a sedated wild animal.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I won't rile him up. I just want to talk to him," his voice was dangerously calm.

Bruce looked like he didn't believe him but he left quietly anyway. "I am not in the mood to deal with you, Stark," Loki said, his voice sounding rough.

Tony waited until they were alone before he spoke back. "Oh really? You should have thought of that before you came at me incognito as a _female _and seduced me! What were you going to do, lure me into a death trap?!" he accused, his anger finally erupting from him.

Loki growled and finally stood up to glare at the man. "It was just a silly trick!" he snapped.

"Just a silly trick? Why did you do it?" Tony demanded. He remembered what Agent Fury said about Loki's mental state. This was something a child would do. "And why did you run away?"

"I did not run away!" Loki protested. "I was kidnapped by my oaf of a brother and forced to wear that muzzle!"

Tony huffed in annoyance. "You ran away from the mansion," he corrected impatiently. "You ran off on us, and we didn't know what to think. You are a tough man... or _woman_... to find."

"I left because there was no reason for me to stay. I am supposed to redeem myself with your group of humans but you never tell me what you are doing or include me in anything! How am I supposed to redeem myself when I'm being constantly shut out!?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Really? You're mad because the cool kids won't include you in their gang? Listen, you can't come waltzing back here expecting us to be best friends forever. You have to earn it. And you were doing really well so far. Until you blew it by running away," he tried to explain.

Loki wondered if he had made a mistake. He knew he had a habit of seeing the worst in others and in himself. He drew the bed sheet closer around his body. "I wasn't doing anything but staying out of everyone's way," he said softly, but he knew the protest sounded weak.

Tony wondered if this was all just more manipulation. Maybe he really didn't know what he had done was wrong. "You weren't staying out of my way when you came at me in a bar and tried to seduce me," he growled.

Loki would have smirked if it wouldn't have hurt his face. "I saw you going in there and wanted to see if you were really as monogamous as you claimed to be... I guess you're not. What does your lady think about your infidelity? She should have heard about it by now."

Tony's eyes narrowed at the mention of his ex-girlfriend. "We aren't together. I broke it off. We are better as business partners. And that is none of your business. What happened to your face?"

_Oh._ "None of your business," Loki said, throwing Tony's words back at him.

Tony was quiet for a moment before he took a step forward towards Loki. "You fucking kissed me," he accused, acting very much like a child himself. "If you ever tell anyone, I'm gonna rip you a new one," he threatened.

"Technically, you kissed me," Loki corrected him. "And believe me when I say it would be of no benefit to me if anyone else found out."

"I didn't know," Tony insisted defensively. He wasn't used to feeling insecure. It wasn't his style. But Loki made him feel all sorts of things.

"Of course you didn't. You wouldn't have done it otherwise so let's just forget it ever happened," Loki said a little too quickly.

Tony was very eager to agree to that. "Already forgotten," he shot back at him.

"Good. Then there is nothing else to discuss. If you see my brother out there pouting can you tell him I need to speak with him," Loki demanded.

"Fine. You weren't a very good kisser, by the way," Tony sneered before he turned around to leave, needing to have the last word, even if that last word was a bold faced lie. Loki had kissed very well. In fact, he could still taste it on his lips.

Loki smiled with his eyes as he watched the human walk off.


End file.
